Insulated wall panel

ABSTRACT

The invention is an insulated wall panel system having structural elements that may be used as an exterior façade to a building. The insulated wall panel system provides a finished exterior surface, a structural component, and an insulation factor. The wall panel system may be used in new construction or in existing buildings. The wall panel system has an insulation layer, a middle cement layer, and an outer veneer layer. The outer veneer layer may include brick, stone, tile, or other material as a finished surface. The insulated wall panels may be attached directly to the studs or other structural element of a building.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationhaving Ser. No. 14/039,101 filed on Sep. 27, 2013, which itself is anonprovisional application tracing priority to U.S. provisional patentapplication having Ser. No. 61/706,148 filed on Sep. 27, 2012. Thisapplication claims the full benefit of, traces priority to, andexpressly incorporates by reference the entirety of both the Ser. No.14/039,101 application and the 61/706,148 application.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of building construction materials.More particularly, the invention relates to the field of constructioncomponents used in the construction of walls and other planar surfacesfor buildings.

Humans have utilized bricks and other hard surfaces as constructioncomponents for buildings for thousands of years. The earliest sun driedbricks were made in Ancient Egypt. Later, bricks were dried using a fuelsource. The Book of Genesis records that burnt brick was used in theconstruction of the Tower of Babel. Thus, from ancient times to thepresent, brick has remained a popular building material.

The enduring presence of brick is due in no small part to its stellarproperties as an exterior surface. Bricks are capable of resisting highsummer heat as well as cold winters and changes there between. Inaddition to such thermal properties, brick provides a strong outer shellto a building. Brick resists wind, rain, snow, dust and otherdetrimental environmental elements. Bricks can be manufactured in amyriad of sizes, textures, and colors. Further, though it need not bepainted, when brick is painted, the paint adheres well to the brick.

However, despite such positive characteristics, brick has a fewdrawbacks, mostly related to installation. For instance, whereas otherexterior surfaces may be relatively easily applied to an existingbuilding structure, brick is much more difficult to install on anexisting building as an alternate siding choice during a renovation.Further, the laying of brick during the construction of a building is alabor intensive operation. Each brick must be mortared and laid, one onanother, brick by brick, by a skilled brick mason. As manual laborprices rise in a given market, so do the costs associated with usingbrick as a building material.

Thus, there exists a need for a building product that has the same orbetter building characteristics and aesthetic appeal as traditionalbrick but also can be applied without the need for an extensive skilledlabor team of brick masons. Further, there exists a need for a buildingproduct that has the same or better building characteristics andaesthetic appeal as traditional brick that may be used as a retro-fitproduct for providing a siding to an existing building structure.Further, as energy costs and environmental consciousness increase, so todoes the demand for better insulation. Thus, there is also a need forbuilding materials offering improved insulation of a building'senvelope.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is thus a wall panel system that exhibits many ofthe same characteristics as traditional brick without the need forextensive labor costs associated with traditional brick masonry.Further, the invention is not limited to new construction applicationsbut may be utilized in existing construction as a retrofit application.

The invention has the same aesthetic appeal as traditional brick and hasthe same or better engineering benefits. The invention functions as astructural element of the building, a water-resistive barrier, aninsulating envelope, and an aesthetic finished exterior surface. Theinvention is lightweight and energy efficient.

The invention includes an outer veneer layer, a middle cement layer, andan inner insulation layer. The outer veneer layer may be thin brick,stone, tile, or other such material as desired for both aesthetic andengineering appeal. The middle cement layer may be glass fiberreinforced concrete. The inner insulation layer may include a rigid pourfoam.

In one embodiment, the inner insulation layer is poured onto and isfixedly attached to the middle cement layer. The outer veneer layer isattached to the middle cement layer with mortar or other cement product.

According to another embodiment, the veneer layer may be attached to themiddle layer with a chemical or other construction adhesive. Theadhesive may be either one part design or of multi-part design.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the veneer layer maybe brick, tile, stone, engineered stone, or other such product asdesired for aesthetic purposes. The mortar or other adhesive used toattach the veneer layer may also be used to grout lines between thebricks, stone, or tile of the veneer layer or another product may beapplied as a grout.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the middle cement layermay include relief lines or guide lines. The relief lines function toprovide a guide when attaching the veneer layer to the cement layer. Forexample, when the veneer layer uses rectangular brick, the relief lineswill be in the shape of the rectangular brick and be just larger thanthe perimeter of the brick such that the brick fits snuggly inside therelief lines upon application. Similarly, if stone is the veneer layer,the relief lines will match and be just larger than the perimeter of thestone to be installed.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the respective innerlayer and middle cement layer are constructed into panels designed to beattached to a building frame. The panels may be attached directly to thestuds of a building or they may be attached to some other structuralcomponent of the building.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the panels areattached using screws such as structural insulated panel (SIP) screws.The SIP screws attach to the building through holes in the panel. Theholes may be countersunk so that the head of the screws is flush withthe surface of the panel.

According to another embodiment, attachment points, or other items suchas a pvc inlay may be incorporated into middle cement layer. Such itemswill be of a material that does not negatively impact the performance orother property of the insulation or otherwise cause a conductive sourceof thermal wicking.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the panels areattached using nails, construction adhesive, bolts, rivets, clasps, orother such attachment devices.

According to another embodiment of the invention, once the panels areattached to the building, the seams between the panels are sealed.

According to another embodiment of the invention, once sealed, theveneer layer is applied over the middle cement layer. Duringapplication, mortar or other attachment material is applied over thepanels and the brick or other material is fitted between the relieflines. The bricks cover the holes of the SIP screws and also,importantly, cover the seams of the panels. Thus, there are no exposedjoints or other openings of the panels.

According to another embodiment of the invention, trim pieces areapplied around openings in the building envelope such as around windowsand doors. These trim pieces may be in the form of headers and mayinclude various shapes as desired for structural and aesthetic purposes.

According to another embodiment of the invention, corner pieces areattached to the panel ends at corners of the building and then brick orother material as desired is placed over the corner pieces just with thepanels.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the panels provide acontinuous insulating envelope for the walls of a structure. The innerinsulation layer may be one inch and may also be up to or greater thanthree inches thick. Such insulation may provide the panels with aninsulation factor of R7 to R21 or greater depending on various factorsof design.

Such an insulation regime applied to outer walls of a structure may,depending on other building and environmental factors such as zoning,building codes, etc . . . , free up space within stud walls for otherbuilding elements such as wiring, plumbing etc . . . and may also reducethe size studs required for a particular building plan. For instance,whereas 2×6 or 2×8 studs may have been required to achieve a desiredinsulation factor, by utilizing the invention as an exterior envelope,2×4 studs may suffice. Similarly, in a retrofit application, where anolder building may have little or no insulation, significant insulation,in addition to aesthetic elements, can be gained by applying theinvention to the pre-existing building.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURES

Features, aspects, and advantages of a preferred embodiment of theinvention are better understood when the detailed description is readwith reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the inventionshowing the layers;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of an embodiment of the inventionshowing two adjacent panels and highlighting the attachment of thepanels to a wall;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showingone panel without the outer veneer layer attached;

FIG. 4 is perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showing twoadjacent panels with the outer veneer layer partially attached andcovering the joint between the two adjacent panels; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showingadjacent panels with the outer veneer layer partially attached andcovering the joint between two adjacent panels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art thatthe present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments onlyand is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention. The following example is provided to further illustrate theinvention and is not to be construed to unduly limit the scope of theinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the invention is an insulated wall panel 10having three layers, 20, 30, and 40. The panel 10 provides a finishedaesthetic surface to a building, a structural component to a building,and an insulation factor for a building. As such, the installed wallpanel 10 includes an inner insulation layer 20, a middle cement layer30, and an outer veneer layer 40. The panel 10 may be attached to abuilding wall 50.

The outer veneer layer 40 may include brick (as shown in the drawings)but may also include stone, tile, engineered stone, and/or similarmaterial depending on desired finish effect. Thus, the use of the term“brick” herein is synonymous and inclusive of other veneers thus listed.The veneer layer 40 is relatively thin and is attached to the middlecement layer 30 using mortar 44 or other appropriate material such as achemical adhesive as best shown in FIG. 4. Each brick (or other materialas desired) of the veneer layer 40 is thin and is defined by aperimeter.

The middle layer 30 provides a substrate to which the brick of theveneer 40 is applied upon installation on a building structure 50. Themiddle layer 30 has a plurality of sets of relief lines 32. Each set ofrelief lines 32 define a boundary that is just larger than the perimeterof a particular brick of the veneer layer 40 that is to be applied tothe middle layer 30. The relief lines 32 may be formed to the thicknessof the desired grout 42 spacing between the brick of the veneer layer40.

The middle layer 30 is made of a cementatious product with a glass fiberreinforcing material embedded therein. The glass fiber has a highstrength and is the principal load-carrying member of the middle layer30 while the cement forms a matrix that allows the fibers to retaintheir desired location and orientation. The resultant product is thinand strong.

In order to form the middle layer 30, a mold is first constructed intowhich a slurry of uncured cementatious product of the middle layer 30 ispoured. The mold will have the negatives of the relief lines 32 formedtherein. These negatives will appear as small trenches within the moldsuch that when the cement cures and the middle layer 30 is removed fromthe mold, the relief lines 32 will protrude outward from the otherwisegenerally planar outer surface 34 of the middle layer. The inner surface36 of the middle layer 30 will also be generally planar but will nothave such relief lines 32. The middle layer 30 may remain in the moldwhile curing. Curing time is dependent upon the thickness, particularsof the mix design, and the environment in which the cement is beingcured. Preferably, the middle cement layer 30 is cured in a chamber.

Once cured, the middle layer 30 is then placed in a fixture that allowsthe inner insulation layer 20 to be applied and attached to the innersurface 36 of the middle layer 30. The inner insulation layer 20 is arigid pour foam that is formed from a two part Class I rated urethane.The foam is non-CFC and non-HCFC. The foam is applied to the innersurface 36 of the middle layer 30 using a machine calibrated to deliverproper and consistent component mix. The finished urethane material 20will have an in place density of approximately 2.2 pounds per cubicfoot. The foam 20 adheres to the middle layer 30 such that the machinedelivery and mixing of the components provides for a complete bondbetween the middle layer 30 and inner insulation layer 20. Thus, thereare no adhesives or other chemical bonding required to achieve thestrength of the final insulated panel 10. The inner insulation layer 20may be one inch thick or up to three inches thick or greater dependingon the level of insulation desired for a particular application.

Alternatively, rather than being poured, the middle layer 30 may bepress-molded, extruded, vibration cast, sprayed, or slip formed. If, inalternate embodiments, attachment points or other items are incorporatedinto the structure they are placed in the mold prior to the injection ofthe urethane.

Once the cement and urethane foam of the respective middle 30 and inner20 layers has cured, the panel 10 is in condition for application to abuilding 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the panels 10 are screwed with screws52 to the wall 50 or other structural element of a building. End pieces,headers, and other trim pieces, having been similarly manufactured, arelikewise attached to the building. The seams 22 between the respectivepanels and trim pieces are sealed with a sealing compound, such asLaticrete® Air and Water Barrier. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, an adhesivesuch as mortar 44 is applied to the outer surface of the middle layer30. Next, the brick of the veneer layer 40 are applied on top of theadhesive 44 and between the relief lines 32, The brick of the veneer 40are applied to overlap 38 the seams 22 in the panels 10. Thisoverlapping 38 of the seams is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Finally, agrout 42 or other material is applied between the gaps in the brick ofthe veneer 40.

We claim:
 1. A wall panel comprising: a middle layer having a first anda second side; an outer veneer layer adhered to the first side of themiddle layer; and an inner insulation layer, comprising a two part rigidurethane pour foam having a first side chemically bonded to the secondside of the middle layer; wherein the wall panel is characterized by alack of any additional sagging prevention layer positioned between theinner insulation layer and a fixed structural building component.
 2. Thewall panel of claim 1 wherein the chemical bond between the first sideof the inner insulation layer and the second side of the middle layer isformed during a pour by the reaction between each one of the parts ofthe two part rigid urethane pour foam.
 3. The wall panel of claim 1wherein the outer veneer layer is selected from the group consisting of:clay brick, ceramic tile, porcelain tile, natural stone, engineeredstone, and paint.
 4. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein the outer veneerlayer is adhered to the first side of the middle layer with an adhesiveselected from the group consisting of mortar, construction adhesive, onepart chemical adhesive, and two part chemical adhesive.
 5. The wallpanel of claim 1 wherein the middle layer is made from glass reinforcedcement.
 6. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein in a plurality of wallpanels are attached to a building structure using an attachment selectedfrom the group consisting of: screws, nails, bolts, welds, constructionadhesive, rivets, and clasps.